Principal Estimator

Job Title: Principal Estimator

Company: Horizon Underground

Location: Norco, CA (Onsite)

Hello,

I'm DF, President - US West at Horizon Underground. I was recently promoted from Chief Operating Officer and have more than 25 years of field and operational experience—over 13 of those years right here at Horizon, where I've done just about every job from the field to the office. I'm reaching out because I'm looking for a pinnacle analyst and operational strategist to join my team as a Principal Estimator.

I've dedicated my professional career here because of who we are.

We're Horizon Underground. We're a leader in the dry utilities' construction field, and we've built an incredible reputation for excellence and always honoring our word over the last 25+ years. We are based in Southern California and serve our customers wherever they need us. We have an amazing team (we call them our 007s) who build the critical underground infrastructure—telecom, electric, gas, and rail—that enables our society and help us all keep moving forward.

We are in our next phase of growth and impact. For us, that means investing in our people and giving our teams the enhanced tools and processes they need to deliver for our customers and the communities we serve. When they win, we all win.

Now, back to why I'm reaching out. I'm not looking for just any estimator. We relish saying what we mean, simply—so I'll be direct.

I'm looking for the person who has a relentless drive for accuracy and is motivated to find every detail that allows us to deliver the best, most competitive solution for our customers.

Your mission is to be the operational strategist who builds our bids and fuels our growth, architecting the data and systems that ensure we win.

You will be responsible for producing bids that are not just surgically accurate, but buildable and profitable. This includes leveraging your absolute mastery of Sage Estimating and acting as the key architect for our estimating data flow into the new Procore platform. This isn't just about pricing a job; it's about understanding every variable, collaborating with our operations team, and building a strategy to win the work and execute it profitably.

You will work directly with me, our other estimators, and our entire operations team—from superintendents in the field to the rest of our operations staff. Your job is to merge your operational expertise with the data to build a winning bid.

• Perform Takeoffs: Conduct meticulous, detailed takeoffs for all materials, labor, and equipment. "Close enough" doesn't work here.
• Collaborate: Work with the entire team—other estimators, superintendents, foremen, and our operations staff—to develop bidding strategies and confirm production rates. Their field experience and your analytical rigor are what create the right price. You are a true partner in building the bid.
• Own the Bid: Manage the entire bidding process from start to finish—solicit vendor quotes, preparing the final estimate, and ensuring it's submitted accurately, compliantly, and on time.
• Drive Systems Strategy: Act as the lead resource in optimizing our estimating data flow. Ensure that data built in Sage transitions seamlessly to support project execution and financial tracking in Procore. You aren't just using the software; you are architecting our data infrastructure.

• You understand the field. You aren't just an analyst; you know how this work gets built. You can see the real-world job behind the blueprint, and you speak the language of our crews. Direct field experience as a foreman or superintendent in a construction setting is a massive plus.
• You have an advanced, analytical mind and a relentless drive for 100% accuracy.
• You thrive under pressure. Estimating is a deadline-driven job. You know how to manage your time and deliver without cutting corners.
• You are not a fan of jargon. You communicate clearly, simply, and directly.
• You fit our culture. You're committed, disciplined, accountable, collegial, and with high integrity. You have the drive and potential to become one of our 007s.

• High-Stakes, High-Reward Compensation: …